Does Employee Telecommuting Helps to Conserve Energy and Protects the Environment for Companies - Essay Example

In the current global shift towards E-commerce and the internet, methods to work from thousands of miles away have been invented. Telecommuting, e-commuting, or Working from Home (WFH) is a new concept in the marketplace.  “Telecommuting is the act of working at a remote location, usually at home, rather than traveling to and from an office.  Telecommuters typically telecommute one to three days a week and commute to the office for the balance of the time” (Boyd, 1996: para.1).  In this new work arrangement, the employees use telecommunication technology to commute to their workplace.  What enabled telecommuting was the invention of portable computers and wireless-based networks.  Such devices make it possible for anyone to work anywhere seamlessly without the need to plug into an electric outlet for power or a cabled internet connection. 

The benefits of this new use of technology are huge. With telecommuting, organizations have reported up to 30% reduction in overhead expenses when they schedule their employee's telecommuting days appropriately.  They have consequently reduced their office space requirements and rents by requiring the telecommuting employees to share desks and other resources and facilities in the company offices (Boyd,1996). Now, anyone can work from any wireless hotspot place such as cafes and airport lounges (Clark, n.d.).Moreover, the convenience for employees and the benefits of telecommuting to the entire society is immense.

Telecommuting is more economical not only for organizations but also for employees who save a lot of money on transportation allowances, clothing, and food spent on lunch or snacks outside the home.  Companies not only save on rent, by getting smaller offices but also on electric and water utilities, having fewer people reporting for work.  Taking away the time commuting to and from the office adds up to the time available for actual work.  This is appreciated more in areas where traffic can be very congested, with employees spending hours idle in their cars instead of doing tasks on the job.  Telecommuters are more flexible in scheduling their actual work time during their most effective periods and around the other demands in their lives, rendering them to be more productive in the long run (Boyd, 1996).         

Working from home enables employees to spend more time with their families and schedule work around their duties such as attending parent meetings in their children’s schools or simply helping them out with their homework.  Single parents and especially single mothers find it very hard to work in conventional working places due to the unavailability of child care while they are at work. With telecommuting, they find it much easier to give time to their families and work at the same time (Managing Telework: Options for Managing the Virtual Workforce, 1998).  Because the possibility of merging work and home duties is most likely for telecommuters,  self-discipline and organizational competencies need to take the upper hand.

Telecommuting serves as insurance that work is continued in the comfort of one’s home.  There can be several factors for work stoppage caused by external events – bad weather, medical emergencies, etc.  Even if an employee relocates for personal reasons, he can still maintain employment by working where he is and submitting work online. When employee is sick with minor illnesses, they can still do work from home without risking the health of their colleagues at work.  Other occurrences such as inclement weather, road constructions, or special events that can hinder employees to get to work will not have a great impact on telecommuters, as they stay put in their homes, working (Boyd, 1996).

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, if an additional 10 percent of workers all over the country will telecommute just one day a week, “Americans would avoid the frustration of driving 24.4 million miles, breathe air with 13,000 tons less air pollution and conserve more than 1.2 million gallons of fuel each week” (Lorenz, 2005, n.p.).  Reduced fossil fuel consumption and traffic congestion lead to cleaner, breathable air, adding to communities’ safety and health.

As the world economy continues to plunge, it is predicted that many empty desks of retrenched employees will disappear for good.  Alternative work practices such as telecommuting, virtual teams, and home working could be a permanent change (Rigby, 2009).  Hence, businesses should be ready for this new growing trend to keep organizations operating efficiently and hopefully survive the ongoing global financial crisis.